GREEN BAY, Wis. — They grew up in adjoining Midwestern states, played at Big Ten colleges and agreed to join the Green Bay Packers as rookie free agents within an hour after the draft.

Here’s something else tight end Jake Stoneburner of Ohio State and wide receiver Myles White, a Michigan State transfer, have in common.

Their college careers were interrupted by off-the-field transgressions that got them in hot water on campus and threatened their chances of a National Football League career.

“I feel he was kind of under the radar and I feel like I was a little bit under the radar,” Stoneburner said Friday. “Getting called up the same week is pretty awesome.”

Promoted Tuesday after spending six weeks on the practice squad, Stoneburner and White will be more than just curiosities Sunday when the Packers play the Cleveland Browns at Lambeau Field.

Stoneburner, 6 feet 3-1/2 inches and 255 pounds, figures to play extensively on special teams and maybe more than a few snaps from scrimmage, replacing injured Ryan Taylor.

Assuming James Jones (knee) doesn’t play, White (6-01/2, 185) probably will be the No. 3 wide receiver and could take more snaps in the slot than anyone else filling the void left by Randall Cobb (leg).

“I wish they didn’t have to come up,” said coach Mike McCarthy. However, “if you had asked me before the (regular) season if those guys could play for me this season, I would have said absolutely. I would have said that in training camp.”

Teammates and coaches alike view Stoneburner and White as talented rookies well-versed in the McCarthy system and able to handle any assignment.

“They’re young guys, Aaron (Rodgers) has tested them and they’ve responded,” quarterbacks coach Ben McAdoo said. “We have confidence in those guys to make plays. Excited to see them play.”

Sixteen months ago, Stoneburner’s career was in turmoil. Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer revoked Stoneburner’s scholarship in June 2012 after he was arrested for urinating on a public building and fleeing police.

“I didn’t think it was much,” recalled Stoneburner, a native of Dublin, Ohio. “I was just walking home. Thought I was being smart instead of driving. I had to go to the bathroom, and the cops were there.

“We got kicked off the team. We had to pay for school. We weren’t allowed to work out with the team. I was out from May to the second week of (summer) camp.”

Back in Meyer’s good graces by the start of the season, Stoneburner played wide in a spread offense that didn’t have the traditional tight end role he had filled for three seasons. Some NFL teams regarded Stoneburner as a tweener, and he feels the arrest hurt his chances, too.

White, who played as a prep in Livonia, Mich., redshirted in 2008 and played six games in 2009 before he and a number of Spartans were involved in a brawl on campus with members of a fraternity house. He was suspended and eventually pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault.

He played a season in junior college and two more at Louisiana Tech without incident but wasn’t drafted. Some teams expressed lingering character concerns.

“I’m very appreciative of just how lucky I really was,” said White. “A lot of guys don’t get that chance. When I was going through that, I was thinking, ‘Wow. What do I do next?'”

Stoneburner, with a $5,000 signing bonus, entered camp as the No. 7 tight end. White, with his $4,500 bonus, appeared to be No. 9 at wide receiver.

“Myles, I just felt he needed to get stronger,” McCarthy said. “I saw a young man in camp that made catches that caught your eye. Each week he got better and better and better. Particularly what he did in the slot. He had a really nice preseason in the slot.

“I think he’s going to get bigger and stronger. He’s a hard worker. To me, that was a very natural (promotion). At some point, I felt he probably was going to play for us.

“Same with Stoneburner. There was a point where you had to consider him for the 53. Just the way he played. The kid had a heck of a preseason. He just wasn’t quite ready.”

On a cold, windy late March day in Ruston, La., White ran two 40-yard dashes for pro scouts, each in 4.42 seconds. Because the surface was artificial, that equates to a 4.46 on FieldTurf.

For a player regarded as a deep threat, that 40 wasn’t overly impressive. Still, White kept running by defenders in camp.

“What a lot of people don’t know till you get on the field with Myles is he can fly,” said cornerback Tramon Williams. “He just runs so smooth and gets right over the top.”

White has gained about 3 pounds since his arrival and knows it will be critical to reach his goal of 190 by 2014.

All he’s worried about now is getting off press coverage in the slot, where Donald Driver and Cobb have wreaked havoc for years.

“‘Drive’ set the blueprint, and Cobb’s obviously doing the same thing,” said White, who played almost his entire first season at Louisiana Tech inside. “I’m just trying to tear a page out of their book.

“In our wide-receiver room, we think the No. 1 thing you got to do (in the slot) is just be tough. You’ve got to be the toughest person on the field, because you’re not just going against corners but safeties who are 200 and linebackers.”

Stoneburner and Brandon Bostick, a second-year free agent with a wide-receiver background at Newberry College, are about even in terms of being ready to play, according to position coach Jerry Fontenot.

“I think we kind of complement each other,” Stoneburner said. “He’s more split out and I’m more in-line. I’m more like ‘Q’ (Andrew Quarless), he’s like Jermichael (Finley).”

Stoneburner clocked 4.65 at the combine before running a blazing 4.54 at pro day 10 days later.

What differentiates Stoneburner from the pack of backup tight ends floating around the NFL?

“I think I’m faster and more athletic than most,” he said. “I’ve always been a split-out, run-a-route type guy. I’ve never been a bruising, heavy tight end.

“My weight’s getting up there, but I still feel just as fast. The bigger you are and the faster you can run, the more places you can play. I feel this league is all about speed.”

It’s also about determination and second chances.

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